The creative side of Coldplaygate
'Byron by name, Byron by nature?' proffers Phil Haberland of Claremont (WA). 'I'm sure the romantic poet is raising a glass of Chianti somewhere in the universe, in honour of CEO Andy Byron. The sound of the famous club-foot beating its exit along a wooden corridor, from yet another cuckolded British Lord or Italian Count's mansion, echoes down the ages.'
Janice Creenaune of Austinmer likes My First Affair, the Lego re-enactment, and notes that 'one comment rang out true. 'Their spouses were shocked when they finally put it together'.'
'Last Thursday night at racetracks in NSW and Victoria, four Race 8s saw winning No. 8s,' reports Gregory Abbott of Macleay Island (Qld). 'Odd eight balls or had C8 gone to the dogs? Yes, I know – I ate it all up.'
Mike Parton of Tamworth explains that the 'antimacassar [C8], used to avoid staining of seating by 'hair oil of choice', is quite specifically anti-Macassar oil. Hence, the name. I grew up with and am still making use of antimacassars.' David Rose of Nollamara (WA) says, 'My 20-year-old step-daughter received a pack of them in an office 'secret Santa'. Not impressed at all.'
Failure to indicate (C8) 'has nothing to do with the brand or country of origin of vehicle but everything to do with the nuts holding the steering wheel', declares Don Nealon of Taree, but if it bothers drivers that much, he points to his 'much beloved father-in-law, who changed cars often, his last being a fully imported Ford Escort. Alas, the indicators were arse-about. Nothing loth, he removed the steering wheel and reversed the positions of the indicator and light-switch stalks. Back went the wheel and Bob's your uncle. It worked. He was chuffed. However, the battery kept going flat every few weeks. Wonder why?'
'I've owned several Volvos,' says Duncan McRobert of Hawks Nest. 'As a safety feature, the earlier ones had 'day running lights'. This, of course, added fuel to perceived prejudice against Volvo drivers and resulted in the constant flashing of lights by other drivers. I often wondered if this was just a reminder that I left the lights on, or that I was merely another Volvo-driving wanker. Incidentally, I never wore a hat.'
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The Advertiser
11 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Ferrari's first EV may be benchmarked against a Chinese electric super sedan
Ferrari may have pushed back the launch of its second electric vehicle (EV) due to "zero" demand, but that should give the famed Italian brand plenty of time to benchmark it against the world's latest and greatest EVs. At the top of that list is the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, the Chinese-made battery-electric super sedan which recently topped the Rimac Nevera to set a new Nurburgring lap record for a production EV, and the Porsche Taycan to claim a new four-door lap record at the infamous German circuit. The high-performance Chinese EV recorded a time of just 7:04.957 seconds around the 20.8km Nordschleife public road course. It's unclear whether Ferrari has actually purchased an Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, as some commenters have stated, but a bright yellow example of the battery-powered super sedan has been spotted leaving Ferrari's Maranello headquarters, as you can see in these images posted to Instagram and Chinese social media website Weibo. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. The SU7 isn't sold in Italy and this particular vehicle appears to be wearing Italian trade plates, suggesting Ferrari has imported the Chinese EV for research and development purposes. If so, it would be the first time in Ferrari's history that a Chinese vehicle has entered Maranello for either R&D or benchmarking purposes. That makes sense, given the Xiaomi only commenced deliveries of the SU7 Ultra in March and Ferrari is preparing to launch the first EV in its 80-year history. Tentatively named 'Elettrica', the first electric Ferrari will be a limited-edition EV that will debut a new four-door Ferrari body style that looks more like a liftback or shooting brake wagon than the Purosangue SUV. Already seen in spy shots, Ferrari's first EV has reportedly been designed in conjunction with Apple's former chief designer Jony Ive and will be larger than other Ferrari models. Pricing will apparently start from US$500,000 ($A770,000), and Ferrari expects to sell roughly 700 to 800 per year. Its powertrain will be revealed in Maranello on October 9, as part of a three-stage global launch for the mould-breaking EV, first customer deliveries of which are due to commence from October 2026. But Ferrari's second EV, which has now been delayed by at least two years, is expected to be a higher-volume, high-performance model that will need to offer stratospheric performance to match the SU7 Ultra. The SU7 Ultra packs a tri-motor powertrain that produces no less than 1138kW of power and 1770Nm of torque – and a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time of just 1.98 seconds. It also features an advanced thermal management system to cope with sustained high-speed driving, which could be a particular focus for Ferrari. While Xiaomi plans to sell 10,000 examples of the SU7 Ultra this year alone, Ferrari's first two EVs will be much more limited. Following its inaugural limited-edition EV, Ferrari's subsequent battery-electric vehicle is planned to be a core model that will find 5000 to 6000 buyers during its five-year lifespan. However, sources at Maranello have told Reuters this second EV, which was initially due to be unveiled at the end of 2026, has been pushed back for a second time and will not make its public debut until 2028 at the earliest. One of the newswire's informants said this was due to "zero" long-term, sustained demand for a high-performance EV from Ferrari. Ferrari isn't the first Italian performance car brand to change its EV plans, with Maserati axing the electric MC20 supercar before its launch, and Lamborghini delaying its first EV until 2029, when it may actually launch as a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) rather than a fully electric vehicle. MORE: Everything Ferrari Content originally sourced from: Ferrari may have pushed back the launch of its second electric vehicle (EV) due to "zero" demand, but that should give the famed Italian brand plenty of time to benchmark it against the world's latest and greatest EVs. At the top of that list is the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, the Chinese-made battery-electric super sedan which recently topped the Rimac Nevera to set a new Nurburgring lap record for a production EV, and the Porsche Taycan to claim a new four-door lap record at the infamous German circuit. The high-performance Chinese EV recorded a time of just 7:04.957 seconds around the 20.8km Nordschleife public road course. It's unclear whether Ferrari has actually purchased an Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, as some commenters have stated, but a bright yellow example of the battery-powered super sedan has been spotted leaving Ferrari's Maranello headquarters, as you can see in these images posted to Instagram and Chinese social media website Weibo. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. The SU7 isn't sold in Italy and this particular vehicle appears to be wearing Italian trade plates, suggesting Ferrari has imported the Chinese EV for research and development purposes. If so, it would be the first time in Ferrari's history that a Chinese vehicle has entered Maranello for either R&D or benchmarking purposes. That makes sense, given the Xiaomi only commenced deliveries of the SU7 Ultra in March and Ferrari is preparing to launch the first EV in its 80-year history. Tentatively named 'Elettrica', the first electric Ferrari will be a limited-edition EV that will debut a new four-door Ferrari body style that looks more like a liftback or shooting brake wagon than the Purosangue SUV. Already seen in spy shots, Ferrari's first EV has reportedly been designed in conjunction with Apple's former chief designer Jony Ive and will be larger than other Ferrari models. Pricing will apparently start from US$500,000 ($A770,000), and Ferrari expects to sell roughly 700 to 800 per year. Its powertrain will be revealed in Maranello on October 9, as part of a three-stage global launch for the mould-breaking EV, first customer deliveries of which are due to commence from October 2026. But Ferrari's second EV, which has now been delayed by at least two years, is expected to be a higher-volume, high-performance model that will need to offer stratospheric performance to match the SU7 Ultra. The SU7 Ultra packs a tri-motor powertrain that produces no less than 1138kW of power and 1770Nm of torque – and a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time of just 1.98 seconds. It also features an advanced thermal management system to cope with sustained high-speed driving, which could be a particular focus for Ferrari. While Xiaomi plans to sell 10,000 examples of the SU7 Ultra this year alone, Ferrari's first two EVs will be much more limited. Following its inaugural limited-edition EV, Ferrari's subsequent battery-electric vehicle is planned to be a core model that will find 5000 to 6000 buyers during its five-year lifespan. However, sources at Maranello have told Reuters this second EV, which was initially due to be unveiled at the end of 2026, has been pushed back for a second time and will not make its public debut until 2028 at the earliest. One of the newswire's informants said this was due to "zero" long-term, sustained demand for a high-performance EV from Ferrari. Ferrari isn't the first Italian performance car brand to change its EV plans, with Maserati axing the electric MC20 supercar before its launch, and Lamborghini delaying its first EV until 2029, when it may actually launch as a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) rather than a fully electric vehicle. MORE: Everything Ferrari Content originally sourced from: Ferrari may have pushed back the launch of its second electric vehicle (EV) due to "zero" demand, but that should give the famed Italian brand plenty of time to benchmark it against the world's latest and greatest EVs. At the top of that list is the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, the Chinese-made battery-electric super sedan which recently topped the Rimac Nevera to set a new Nurburgring lap record for a production EV, and the Porsche Taycan to claim a new four-door lap record at the infamous German circuit. The high-performance Chinese EV recorded a time of just 7:04.957 seconds around the 20.8km Nordschleife public road course. It's unclear whether Ferrari has actually purchased an Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, as some commenters have stated, but a bright yellow example of the battery-powered super sedan has been spotted leaving Ferrari's Maranello headquarters, as you can see in these images posted to Instagram and Chinese social media website Weibo. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. The SU7 isn't sold in Italy and this particular vehicle appears to be wearing Italian trade plates, suggesting Ferrari has imported the Chinese EV for research and development purposes. If so, it would be the first time in Ferrari's history that a Chinese vehicle has entered Maranello for either R&D or benchmarking purposes. That makes sense, given the Xiaomi only commenced deliveries of the SU7 Ultra in March and Ferrari is preparing to launch the first EV in its 80-year history. Tentatively named 'Elettrica', the first electric Ferrari will be a limited-edition EV that will debut a new four-door Ferrari body style that looks more like a liftback or shooting brake wagon than the Purosangue SUV. Already seen in spy shots, Ferrari's first EV has reportedly been designed in conjunction with Apple's former chief designer Jony Ive and will be larger than other Ferrari models. Pricing will apparently start from US$500,000 ($A770,000), and Ferrari expects to sell roughly 700 to 800 per year. Its powertrain will be revealed in Maranello on October 9, as part of a three-stage global launch for the mould-breaking EV, first customer deliveries of which are due to commence from October 2026. But Ferrari's second EV, which has now been delayed by at least two years, is expected to be a higher-volume, high-performance model that will need to offer stratospheric performance to match the SU7 Ultra. The SU7 Ultra packs a tri-motor powertrain that produces no less than 1138kW of power and 1770Nm of torque – and a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time of just 1.98 seconds. It also features an advanced thermal management system to cope with sustained high-speed driving, which could be a particular focus for Ferrari. While Xiaomi plans to sell 10,000 examples of the SU7 Ultra this year alone, Ferrari's first two EVs will be much more limited. Following its inaugural limited-edition EV, Ferrari's subsequent battery-electric vehicle is planned to be a core model that will find 5000 to 6000 buyers during its five-year lifespan. However, sources at Maranello have told Reuters this second EV, which was initially due to be unveiled at the end of 2026, has been pushed back for a second time and will not make its public debut until 2028 at the earliest. One of the newswire's informants said this was due to "zero" long-term, sustained demand for a high-performance EV from Ferrari. Ferrari isn't the first Italian performance car brand to change its EV plans, with Maserati axing the electric MC20 supercar before its launch, and Lamborghini delaying its first EV until 2029, when it may actually launch as a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) rather than a fully electric vehicle. MORE: Everything Ferrari Content originally sourced from: Ferrari may have pushed back the launch of its second electric vehicle (EV) due to "zero" demand, but that should give the famed Italian brand plenty of time to benchmark it against the world's latest and greatest EVs. At the top of that list is the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, the Chinese-made battery-electric super sedan which recently topped the Rimac Nevera to set a new Nurburgring lap record for a production EV, and the Porsche Taycan to claim a new four-door lap record at the infamous German circuit. The high-performance Chinese EV recorded a time of just 7:04.957 seconds around the 20.8km Nordschleife public road course. It's unclear whether Ferrari has actually purchased an Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, as some commenters have stated, but a bright yellow example of the battery-powered super sedan has been spotted leaving Ferrari's Maranello headquarters, as you can see in these images posted to Instagram and Chinese social media website Weibo. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. The SU7 isn't sold in Italy and this particular vehicle appears to be wearing Italian trade plates, suggesting Ferrari has imported the Chinese EV for research and development purposes. If so, it would be the first time in Ferrari's history that a Chinese vehicle has entered Maranello for either R&D or benchmarking purposes. That makes sense, given the Xiaomi only commenced deliveries of the SU7 Ultra in March and Ferrari is preparing to launch the first EV in its 80-year history. Tentatively named 'Elettrica', the first electric Ferrari will be a limited-edition EV that will debut a new four-door Ferrari body style that looks more like a liftback or shooting brake wagon than the Purosangue SUV. Already seen in spy shots, Ferrari's first EV has reportedly been designed in conjunction with Apple's former chief designer Jony Ive and will be larger than other Ferrari models. Pricing will apparently start from US$500,000 ($A770,000), and Ferrari expects to sell roughly 700 to 800 per year. Its powertrain will be revealed in Maranello on October 9, as part of a three-stage global launch for the mould-breaking EV, first customer deliveries of which are due to commence from October 2026. But Ferrari's second EV, which has now been delayed by at least two years, is expected to be a higher-volume, high-performance model that will need to offer stratospheric performance to match the SU7 Ultra. The SU7 Ultra packs a tri-motor powertrain that produces no less than 1138kW of power and 1770Nm of torque – and a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time of just 1.98 seconds. It also features an advanced thermal management system to cope with sustained high-speed driving, which could be a particular focus for Ferrari. While Xiaomi plans to sell 10,000 examples of the SU7 Ultra this year alone, Ferrari's first two EVs will be much more limited. Following its inaugural limited-edition EV, Ferrari's subsequent battery-electric vehicle is planned to be a core model that will find 5000 to 6000 buyers during its five-year lifespan. However, sources at Maranello have told Reuters this second EV, which was initially due to be unveiled at the end of 2026, has been pushed back for a second time and will not make its public debut until 2028 at the earliest. One of the newswire's informants said this was due to "zero" long-term, sustained demand for a high-performance EV from Ferrari. Ferrari isn't the first Italian performance car brand to change its EV plans, with Maserati axing the electric MC20 supercar before its launch, and Lamborghini delaying its first EV until 2029, when it may actually launch as a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) rather than a fully electric vehicle. MORE: Everything Ferrari Content originally sourced from:
West Australian
a day ago
- West Australian
Stella Rimington, first UK female spy boss, dies at 90
Stella Rimington, the first female director general of Britain's MI5 security and counter-intelligence service who ushered in an era of greater transparency at the agency, has died aged 90. Rimington, who ran the domestic security agency between 1992 and 1996, was its first head to be publicly named and later wrote a memoir Open Secret about her career at the formerly secretive organisation. She went on to write a series of espionage novels and is also widely thought to have inspired actor Judy Dench's tough but playful characterisation of the fictional spymaster 'M' in several James Bond movies. "She died surrounded by her beloved family and dogs and determinedly held on to the life she loved until her last breath," a family statement quoted by local media said on Monday. Rimington was given one of the British state's highest honours when she was made a dame in 1996. She joined MI5 in 1969 and worked in roles including counter-subversion and counter-terrorism. Under her leadership MI5 took a more prominent role in Britain's fight against Irish republican militants, according to a profile on the MI5 website. "As the first avowed female head of any intelligence agency in the world, Dame Stella broke through long-standing barriers and was a visible example of the importance of diversity in leadership," current MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said in a statement. She committed the agency to a more transparent approach to its work, softening its post-Cold War image. "We are, of course, obliged to keep information secret in order to be effective, this is not to say that we should necessarily be a wholly secret organisation," she said in a publicly broadcast 1994 lecture. "Secrecy is not imposed for its own sake. It is not an end in itself." Foreshadowing her later literary career, Rimington opened that same speech with a nod to the British spy novel tradition and the fascination with the security services it had inspired among the general public. "It is exciting stuff and has led to the creation of many myths - and some lurid speculation - about our work. I must admit that it is with some hesitation that I set out tonight to shed some daylight," she said. "I have a sneaking feeling that the fiction may turn out to be more fun than the reality."
Perth Now
a day ago
- Perth Now
Stella Rimington, first UK female spy boss, dies at 90
Stella Rimington, the first female director general of Britain's MI5 security and counter-intelligence service who ushered in an era of greater transparency at the agency, has died aged 90. Rimington, who ran the domestic security agency between 1992 and 1996, was its first head to be publicly named and later wrote a memoir Open Secret about her career at the formerly secretive organisation. She went on to write a series of espionage novels and is also widely thought to have inspired actor Judy Dench's tough but playful characterisation of the fictional spymaster 'M' in several James Bond movies. "She died surrounded by her beloved family and dogs and determinedly held on to the life she loved until her last breath," a family statement quoted by local media said on Monday. Rimington was given one of the British state's highest honours when she was made a dame in 1996. She joined MI5 in 1969 and worked in roles including counter-subversion and counter-terrorism. Under her leadership MI5 took a more prominent role in Britain's fight against Irish republican militants, according to a profile on the MI5 website. "As the first avowed female head of any intelligence agency in the world, Dame Stella broke through long-standing barriers and was a visible example of the importance of diversity in leadership," current MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said in a statement. She committed the agency to a more transparent approach to its work, softening its post-Cold War image. "We are, of course, obliged to keep information secret in order to be effective, this is not to say that we should necessarily be a wholly secret organisation," she said in a publicly broadcast 1994 lecture. "Secrecy is not imposed for its own sake. It is not an end in itself." Foreshadowing her later literary career, Rimington opened that same speech with a nod to the British spy novel tradition and the fascination with the security services it had inspired among the general public. "It is exciting stuff and has led to the creation of many myths - and some lurid speculation - about our work. I must admit that it is with some hesitation that I set out tonight to shed some daylight," she said. "I have a sneaking feeling that the fiction may turn out to be more fun than the reality."
